Who will hold the reins of power? Mandy v Harriet in the summer stand-in war

A turf war is brewing over which of Gordon Brown's senior lieutenants should be in charge of the country when he goes on holiday this summer.

In one corner is business secretary Lord Mandelson, deputy prime minister in all but name; while in the other is Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman.

Downing Street is believed to view Lord Mandelson as a safe pair of hands to take on the role.

Status: Peter Mandelson

Deputy: Harriet Harman

But this will anger Miss Harman, who wants to take the reins again as she did last summer, becoming the first woman to lead the country since Margaret Thatcher.

Both argue they have a good claim on the job.

While Miss Harman, who is also Equalities minister and Leader of the Commons, stands in for Mr Brown at question time; Lord Mandelson has just been promoted to First Secretary of State in the recent reshuffle.

Mr Brown has come to lean heavily on the former arch-Blairite Mandelson, and there is talk of him hosting a question time in the Lords - a key indicator of his status.

A Downing Street source said: 'They are still trying to finalise who is doing what while Gordon is off. It's like treading on eggshells when it comes to some of the personalities.'

Last year the summer duties were shared between Miss Harman, Chancellor Alistair Darling and Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

The last person to hold the title deputy prime minister was John Prescott, who stepped down along with Blair in 2007.

Meanwhile Miss Harman has been damaged in Mr Brown's eyes after being accused of plotting future leadership ambitions.

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Who will hold the reigns of power? Mandy v Harriet in the summer stand-in war